Music

Whither the Album? Chuck Klosterman says Chinese Democracy is the format's last hurrah. Kanye proves him wrong.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Secret History of Chicago Music The Mauds
By Plastic Crimewave

The List This week's best live bets, including the Sadies, 18th Dye with Devon Williams, Hamell On Trial, Emeralds with Sun Circle and Bird Show, and more

Early Warnings Buy tickets to upcoming concerts.

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On the Blogs
Peter Margasak's Post No Bills

Crickets, from the Reader's music staff

Recently in Music

Punk on the Inside No Age proves it's the spirit that matters, not the clothes or the chords.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Plus: Photos of the punk show of the decade by Clayton Hauck

Braxton and the Beast Once upon a time, a major label not only signed but supported one of the most uncompromising radicals in jazz.
By Peter Margasak

Space Dancehall MC Zulu works on Planet Lazer Bass, but he lives right here.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Local Release Roundup Anathallo's eclectic indie pop, a split single from two Milemarker vets, Yung Berg's latest mix tape, and more
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Q&A With Robyn Hitchock
By Lisa Torem

Outsider Punk Twenty years after John Henry Timmis IV put out his final single, somebody finally cares.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

A Big Band, Bent Dutch pianist Michiel Braam drafts Chicagoans into his long-running "anti-orchestra" for an Umbrella fest experiment.
By Neil Tesser

Kill It Again The latest incarnation of Chicago's independent-promoter ordinance may seem relatively harmless, but there's still no reason to let it pass.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Criminalizing Culture The new federal intellectual property act promises to do for music what Homeland Security did for air travel.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Watch My Meme How the Web is changing black youth culture, and vice versa.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

They Like That Old-Time Rock 'n' Roll Catfish Haven moves past indie rock to 1978.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Short Takes on Recent Releases Hybrid street music from Kinshasa, meticulous jazz from Norway, and a lavish tribute to a neglected country pioneer
By Peter Margasak

Soul Train Local The show that put black music on TVs across America got its start in Chicago—and even after it moved to LA, Chicago kept its own version running daily for nearly a decade.
By Jake Austen

Metal Shop Seventh Rule releases punishing music in beautiful packages.
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer
Chill the Funk Out The latest from Shape Shoppe: Chandeliers' The Thrush. Plus: Metallica: The Loud Album
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer
A Hole in the Shape of "All Summer Long"
How Kid Rock’s rejection of iTunes let anonymous session musicians beat him on the charts with his own song.

Local Release Roundup
Anthemic synth-punk, sweet sneaker hip-hop, bearable bummer rock, and more

The Chicago Way
Now that he's been dubbed one to watch, DJ-producer Willy Joy wants to help the next guy in line.

A Blast From Blaxploitation's Past
A Chicago band you never heard of recorded a smokin' soundtrack for a movie that never got made.

Pagan Death Cult
What could Greenwich Village folk and South Korean black metal possibly have in common?
Reviews of Karen Dalton's Green Rocky Road and Pyha's The Haunted House by Noah Berlatsky

Rooting for the Big Guy
Why local music fans should be glad Jam won the battle for the Uptown Theatre
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Africa on the Ground
Tiny reissue labels dig past the canon to the undiscovered treasures of the continent’s golden age.
By Peter Margasak

The Man Who Makes It Happen
Mike Reed’s best known as the guy who assembles the Pitchfork Music Festival, but in his spare time he performs miracles for the local jazz scene.
By Peter Margasak

It's All World Music Now
How technology is turning the tables on the Westernization of pop
Sharp Darts by Miles Raymer

Best of Chicago Readers' and the Reader's picks best rock act, best MC, best DJ, and more.